Numerical taxonomic methods applied to some Indo-Australian Drepanidae: Lepidoptera

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Abstract
1. Methods of numerical analysis are discussed which have given little support to earlier classifications and have recommended radical changes in the taxonomy of some Indo-Australian Drepanidae. 2. The results of a cluster analysis and a principal coordinates analysis on 88 species and subspecies have been discussed. 3. Graphs with minimum spanning trees are illustrated to show a method of representing information from both analyses together. 4. Multi-dimensional graphs indicate the phenetic relationship of species within each genus. 5. The numerical taxonomic position of species is compared with that derived by recent classical taxonomic methods. The reasons for minor discrepancies are discussed. 6. Numerical results have assisted in deciding whether some groups of individuals should have specific or subspecific rank. In other cases whether an individual belongs to a particular genus or not, has been indicated by the numerical results.

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